Labor Day isn't just the time when the presidential campaigns start in earnest.

It also marks the time when companies start planning for the following year's raises. For Houstonians, the news is pretty good, thanks in large part to the well-paying and expanding oil and gas industry.

The average worker here will get a 3.3 percent raise next year, compared to the national average of 3 percent, reports Aon Hewitt, the benefits consulting firm that has surveyed large employers on their compensation plans for the past 37 years.

That's about the same as in 2012, according to Aon Hewitt, which polled 1,305 large employees nationwide, including 22 in Houston.

"Houston is once again a bit more aggressive in the salary picture than we see nationally," said Ken Abosch, compensation practice leader for Aon Hewitt in Lincolnshire, Ill.

The oil and gas industry has historically been one of the highest-paying industries, both in terms of base pay and bonuses, he said. It also was spared the worst of the recent economic downturn, it benefits from strong demand for its products and services and it has strong profit margins.

The U.S. energy and computer industries are each expected to boost pay by 3.6 percent next year. Only mining is higher, at 3.8 percent.

While base salaries are creeping up incrementally, Abosch said, "Bonuses are where the real action is this year."

Next year, companies are planning to allocate 12.1 percent of their payrolls on bonuses, the highest during the past 37 years, he said. Typically, the money is distributed based on individual, business-unit and company performance with the top workers getting the biggest share.

The energy industry is planning to spend 17.8 percent of its payroll on bonuses next year, up from 16.4 percent this year.

Bonuses tend to drive employee behavior, said Abosch. Companies also like them because they don't have to be awarded in lean years.

Shortage of talent

While many companies in the U.S. are struggling, Houston employers are facing a different challenge.

"The word you hear is grow, grow, grow," said Paul Glogowski, reward practice leader for the Hay Group in the southwest region in Dallas. "Add more people. Add more people."

The shale business and the gas business faces a shortage of talented employees, said Glogowski, who works out of Dallas but spends a lot of time consulting with energy companies in Houston about their compensation plans.

"The status quo won't suffice," he said. Companies have to keep their top talent, which pushes raises for Houstonians more likely into the upper 3s to lower 4s. The Hay Group is forecasting a 3 percent average wage hike for U.S. workers next year.

Everyone is competing for the same talent, he said, and they're doing that by stealing other companies' highly skilled engineers, geoscientists and other employees with critical technical skills.

Deborah Manning, senior partner of Lucas Group in the Houston office, said the word in the employment community is that raises will hover between 2 and 6 percent next year.

Of course, money isn't the only reason people change jobs. Their company might be facing financial problems, previous layoffs may have left them with multiple roles or a bad boss might be driving them away.

Switching can pay off

But many Houstonians know they can get more money if they change jobs, said Manning, who focuses on recruiting human-resource professionals for new positions. She said job changers are getting as much of a 15 to 25 percent bump in pay when they switch.

Glogowski said energy companies' margins give them room to keep their top people.

Other industries that don't have that cushion, or are facing hard times, are trying to come up with less-expensive ways to retain and reward their employees such as on-the-spot bonuses, gift certificates to local restaurants or tickets to a water park.

Employees appreciate the perks that send the message the company is paying attention to the value they bring.

"Companies are looking for things that have a lot of bang for that buck," he said. "You better have them if you can't pay like the oil and gas companies."